Gameday: Detroit Lions vs. Houston Texans in second week of preseason

The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans will face off in Week 2 of the NFL preseason at 8 p.m. Saturday at NRG Stadium after a week of joint practices. Neither Matthew Stafford or Deshaun Watson played in the first game of the preseason, so any potential appearance -- or lack thereof -- is worth keeping an eye out for.

The Lions opened the preseason with a 31-3 loss to the New England Patriots while the Texans lost to the Green Bay Packers 28-26. This represents the second straight week Detroit has practiced with its preseason opponent heading into the weekend as the Patriots visited Allen Park last week.

This post will run through the week of headlines leading into the game itself:

This post will update with a link to the live blog of the contest as we inch closer to kickoff. A couple of the main stories heading into Houston this week was the return of Snacks Harrison, Marvin Jones staying home, Stafford's return to practice and how the team would fare in the brutal Houston heat.

The Lions left Jones home to deal with an injury while Harrison was activated before Thursday's practice with the Texans. The defensive tackle opened camp on the non-football injury list as the team monitored his conditioning after missing its offseason program. Harrison was holding out -- along with cornerback Darius Slay -- in the hopes of scoring a new contract.

Mike Daniels was another player who failed to make the trip to Houston, which was a surprise to many as the defensive tackle said he planned to practice with the Texans. Second-year coach Matt Patricia confirmed that the team's newest defensive tackle was still working his way through a lingering foot injury. Daniels underwent surgery and missed six games last season in Green Bay.

For those looking for a little 53-man roster projection, MLive's Kyle Meinke has you covered. This projection came after Detroit's first preseason game, in which the starters were rested and the players on the bubble were given some serious playing time.